Handling Questions You Don't Know the Answer To

Here is a guarantee: at some point during your university interview, you will be asked a question you do not know the answer to. This is not a sign that something has gone wrong. It is not a sign that you are underprepared. It is a deliberate and essential part of the interview design.

Understanding why this happens — and having a strategy for responding — transforms one of the most feared moments of the interview into one of the most powerful.

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Why Interviewers Ask Questions You Cannot Answer

Interviewers ask questions beyond your knowledge for several very specific reasons:

1. They Want to See Your Ceiling

If every question is within your comfort zone, the interviewer learns nothing about your potential. By pushing you to the edge of your knowledge — and beyond it — they can see how far you can stretch. Your A-Level grades tell them what you already know. The interview tells them what you could become.

2. They Are Simulating University Learning